— Joining the legacy established by Ryan Tapak, Adam Ahlfeld and Brett Finkelmeier will be Rochester (IN) guard Kory Barnett and Carmel (IN) guard Daniel Moore who have both agreed to walk-on in Bloomington, according to multiple reports. While it may not seem like a big deal to land two walk-ons, both of these kids are what the program needs: they’ll show up everyday with the right attitude, work hard, do well in school and be proud to wear the IU uniform. Moore turned down a free ride at Boston University for the opportunity to don the cream and crimson. Congrats are in order for both guys.

— A friend of Inside the Hall, Jody Demling of the Louisville Courier-Journal, has a brief update on Josh Harrellson, the junior college forward from Illinois who is reportedly interested in Indiana. Jody lists IU as “still in the mix,” but this looks like a two horse race between St. Louis and Kentucky. Go Rick Majerus. The Hoosier Scoop also has an update on Harrellson.

— And finally, in a shocking development, a day after Derrick Rose declared for the NBA Draft, Tyreke Evans committed to Memphis. Those of you unfamiliar with Tyreke, he’s a top 10 player in the 2008 class and a good friend of everybody’s favorite basketball ambassador, William Wesley. Evans, by the way, was also involved in a shooting a couple of months ago. The reason I bring this up for you, the Indiana fan, is that our former prized recruit, Devin Ebanks, has lined up his visits and the final one is Memphis. It’ll be interesting to see if Ebanks lands alongside Evans in Memphis. I would like my chances if my name were John Vincent Calipari.

Moore is a talented and smart basketball player. I watched him while attending high school with him for two years. hes definitely a player that could eventually help IU. He started pg for carmel hs his freshman year when josh mcroberts was a senior, in arguably the best high school basketball conference in the nation, the MIC. Fink started on that team as well. he's a great true pg and can score when needed. Its nice to see an Indiana kid fulfill his dreams of playing for the hoosiers

Kelin Blab

Glad to see Indian a kids wanting to play at IU……….even if theya re walk on's…. yuk, can't believe I said that. I heard Kory Barnett is going to be the new Adam Ahfeld

ricbraun

If Devin Ebanks doesn't go to Texas, he is an idiot. Him and Evans are the same player. At Texas, he might not start but he would get considerable playing time as a freshman on a team that if they return DJ Augustine (bad spelling) will be preseason top 5. but i guess to these kids some things are more important than winning

Ebanks is a one-and-done type of player. I doubt he wants to go to Texas and battle for playing time on an already stacked team. There will be an opportunity to step right in at Memphis with Rose, Dorsey and CDR all departing.

hoosier07

So if Ebanks is a few steps away from heading to Memphis, any other big names still considering Indiana? With the arrival of Tom Crean I was expecting at least a few of the remaining uncommitted players to put us on their list…

ricbraun

he is not one-and-done. he is not good enough, plus he is a headcase. the freshman class next year is not nearly as good as it was this year, and think of the freshman that entered the draft or will actually still be in the draft come this summer. only the top 5 or so. next year that number will be even smaller, and Ebanks is not even a top 10 player in his class. he is not one-and-done unless he is a moron

hoosiergal

I remember another walk on , His dream was to play basketball for the Hoosiers.. Pure heart and hustle, not necessarily talent but we grew to love him. Let's hope these two young men have half of his determination and spirit. Eric Suhr made his mark at Assembly Hall and the heart of Hoosier fans.

JerryCT

To me the vaule of a walk on is that its a good sign that IU still holds a vlauable appeal for in state players. Like a sign of spring so to speak.

We know this is an objective of Crean's and of most folks on this site. I think the kids need to be celebrated and encouraged.and not trashed into self fulfilling prophesies

We will win many championships with walk ons ? No, not unless we were this seasons Drake team.

JerryCT

Do we really have credible info on who Crean is recruiting for this '08 class ? Seems like we do not.

I wonder how often a major recruit actually pans out. UCONN just signed a 7'1″ JUCO player from Nigeria not listed anywhere but had offers from Arizona, West Va, Villanova.

bbfan

The value of a walk-on is as a practice player. Nothing more. If a Suhr is in the hearts and minds of the Hoosier nation then it's because he was on a bad team and he was the recipient of bad players around him.

flahoosier

the good part about these walk ons and the only good thing in my opinion is they are warm bodies for this year. I don't think its smart to sign a bunch of marginal players this year to scholarships. I'd much rather go after a couple of the top 150 left this year and maybe a juco player, and then save the scholarships for next year when Crean will have a full season to recruit. Why waste scholarships this year when we can ofter more next year along with a ton of playing time. Next year is a wasted year, no need to use up all 5 open scholarships because then we will be stuck with those players for all 4 years as none will be good enough to leave early

i think there's a pretty big difference between being “involved in a shooting” and “sitting in the driver's seat during a drive-by shooting.”

tberry

Probably these walk on see the same thing some better players see. Namely, that next year will be a down, short-handed year and playing time will be easier to get. I also think the walk-ons and other recruits are sold on IU and Crean.

I think recruiting will be much better than some are predicting and that Crean will get right to building his and IU's winning program.

SWEEEEET…..just got an 09' commit to go along with my favorite future Hoosier Derek Elston……Bobby Capobianco…….get the chants ready this one could be a tough one….

Just read it on Hoosiernation….

Kelin Blab

More interesting stuff….Brian Bouchie…son of IU screener Steve Bouchie is leaving Valpo and according to Hutch at the Indystar…IU is DEFINITELY interested….I believe this kid is 6'11 and played well for valpo but wants to be closer to home…..this would b nice

SteveEyl

+1 to that. Suhr never belonged on the floor during a big ten game. Especially on the defensive end.

Not that I have anything against these kids, I dig the fact that they will play for free.